It's not like anyone had any questions regarding Patrice Bergeron's (no pun intended) testicular fortitude. Even his prideful, injury suppressing peers probably envy how casually he makes professional hockey look while his insides look like an autopsy. For Christ's sake, the guy played throughout the entirety of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs while his x-ray looked like that of someone who succeeded in committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. That doesn't mean we should shrug our shoulders as if we are unimpressed by his ability to play an entire season with a groin that surely felt like it endured a nut-crushing kick from an MMA fighter. It just means that shaking off an ungodly amount of distress without an obvious drop off in his performance isn't exactly breaking news.

Do you know what is breaking news? The fact that the Boston Bruins don't give a fucccck about the unquestioned leader of their team. I don't fault Patrice Bergeron for biting the proverbial pillow and fighting through pelvic pain that must have had him thinking that one of those chestbursters from 'Alien Vs. Predator' was going rip through his reproductive region at any given moment. I blame the organization that prioritized wins in November over giving their most loyal foot soldier 10-12 regular season games off to rid himself of a condition that potentially makes taking a deep breathe a painstaking task. Unless this was some special case is which surgery and the healing process would have required more than 4-6 weeks then it's absolutely inexcusable that the franchise didn't demand that he see a doctor more steadfastly than over protective mother. Either the medical staff didn't know Patrice Bergeron was hurt (which is about as unlikely as me being able to tie my skates without crumbling to the ground from the agony of a torturous testicle), or they actively let a torturous testicle at least partially cripple their future captain for approximately half a calendar year.

Maybe there were some exaggerative liberties taken in implying this was a season long ailment, and Patrice Bergeron wouldn't have been able to return for the postseason if he had his abdominal wall stitched back up. It wouldn't be the first time that NHL loyalists tried to make it sound like surviving 82 games plus playoffs is the equivalent of coming back from multiple military tours both physically and emotionally unscathed. However, if I'm taking this news at face value then there is egg on the face of the organization that devalued the health of a player that's never been anything other than selfless. Participating in contact-reliant professional athletics for seven months with a sports hernia is the mark of someone whose tough as nails, but an employer that encourages that emotionally influenced behavior is - objectively speaking - stupid as shit.